Page 1 of Secret Mission

Chapter One

Devil’s Belly Cave

Near Karma, Vandemora

Every one of us holds our breath, hoping we don’t see a dead woman on the tablet screen.

This is not how the hunt for Allison is going to end.

That’s my vow as the underwater drone pans left and right, moves forward, bringing the camera closer to something.

The seconds tick by as our team watches until we get our first look.

Pale and oblong, something rests on the cave floor.

If that is a body part from our client’s missing daughter, I’ll be the first to vomit.

The drone operator works the controller in his lap. “This is what I saw a few minutes ago.” His thumbs move to adjust whatwe can see on the monitor. “I’m going to try to get closer this time, but the current is making it hard.”

The lead diver, a behemoth of a man next to me, shifts in his raincoat, never taking his eyes from the video. “The current’s getting worse. We need to move now.”

I lean in closer, pointing at the screen. “What’s that right there?”

An oily sickness rolls through me as we all shift to gather tighter around the screen until the object comes into focus.

I swallow down an acrid sting.

Small, gray and white tennis shoes lay on the cave floor. One of the laces waves like an arm. Back and forth, twisting in the current. A morbid version of one of those inflatable waving tube men that inhabit car lots.

The drone pans left. Then right.

Rock formations stretch out as far as the camera can visualize.

“No dead girls yet,” the drone operator says in an offhand way that makes both of my fists knot.

Fuck. That.

Before I can reel my shit in, I’ve got his shirt clenched, and he’s spilling out of the folding camp chair, stumbling to get to his feet.

“She’s aperson.Shehas a name. A fucking life.”

Beast, my team leader, grabs my arm, his angry eyes slicing me. “Truck, lock it down. Step back.”

We stand off, his jaw locked as tight as my own.

The need to knock that shitty-fucking twenty-something’s teeth in makes the pulse throb in my temples.

“Take a breather,” Beast rumbles. “We’re all wired tight. I believe she’s alive, too. All of us do. We just need to get this done.”

I force an inhale. Loosen my grip.

One stiff nod is all I can give him before I glare at the drone guy, issuing a silent reminder to watch his goddamn mouth.

My attachment to this case is unhealthy.

Pacing around, I try to blow off the steam, while I watch the others work.

The geology professor, who accompanied the drone operator, marks something on the laminated map he’s created for the underwater rescue team.

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